Bath Time
by Teh w4nd3r3r
Summary: Pokémon are incredible creatures. The alone time we spend with our pokémon can cause us to make vastly unusual behavioral changes...changes that make an incredibly new person when all is said and done.
1. First bath

It was a pretty exhausting day for my first day as a trainer. I had just received my starter pokémon, a cute little male oshawott who I nicknamed Hilt. He was pretty feisty when we met, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was because he was ignored by previous trainers who came before me. Anyways, the little guy was as tuckered out as I was, and we were now spending our first night in a Pokémon Center. As soon as I turned on the room light, he ran straight for the bed.

"Osha!" he cried as he bounced on the bed we were going to share. I felt the bed for myself and was surprised to find it was soft to the touch. I was glad I didn't believe those rumors about the beds being mediocre in overall feel. I sat on the bed and took out a set of clothes from my backpack. I patted my oshawott on the head and smiled at him.

"Today was a little difficult, but we managed to pull through," I said. "Tomorrow, we'll start training. Here is my plan. Since I know a little bit about swordplay, and since you are just starting out with your scalchop, what say we get some practice in? Who knows, I might learn something too."

"Sha?" Hilt looked at me curiously.

"I'm sure I can buy a few kendo sticks from the Poké Mart downstairs," I explained. "Curiously, they seem to have everything. If not, I can improvise. Anyways," I stood up, gathering my set of clothes, "I'll take a quick bath. I will be back." I entered the room's bathroom and closed the door. After pouring in a bubble bath solution, filling the tub with a sizable amount of warm water, and discarding my current clothes, I entered it and lied down. I fiddled around with the bubbles as I contemplated our plan.

"He's a little guy," I murmured to myself, "but I can tell that he hits really hard. I'll have to be extra careful." I heard the door open and immediately froze; I must have neglected to lock the door. Hilt walked up to me, probably curious about what I was doing. "H-hey there, Hilt. Is something wrong?" He walked up to the tub and looked at me. He smiled before jumping in, splashing water and bubbles near the tub and on me.

"Sha osha!" the otter cried. Hilt appeared to be having fun in the tub, which negated any embarrassment I had and brought a smile to my face. He sloshed around in the bubbles for a bit before coming to rest on my left side.

"Aw, I guess I can let you stay," I said. My blush was now completely gone, having been neutralized by Hilt's innocence. Once he evolved, the innocence would disappear, but I would treasure this moment forever.


	2. The hot spring

True to form, once Hilt evolved into a dewott, training was the one thing on his mind. I did my best to keep up with his rigorous schedule, but I could see things were no longer going to work as well as we wanted them too. Before I knew it, I was constructing practice dummies for my pokémon to spar with, for I lacked the stamina to do so. We were currently on the road to Twist Mountain, where our camp was set up. In that time frame, I found a zorua and added him to my team under the nickname Trick.

"Just another hurdle," I commented as I and Trick watched my dewott completely destroy one dummy before moving on to the next. I took a look at the orange sky, taking note of the training schedule he set up for himself. I was happy to see him grow, really I was, but watching him practice and grow stronger was beginning to take its toll on me. I had run out of kendo sticks and so could not practice with him as effectively as I used to. We never bathed together after he evolved, but it was because of how committed to developing his technique he became.

"Zor?" Trick inquired. I had an idea as to what the fox was saying, and from the look on his face, he knew the answer I would give him. I humored him anyway.

"It...it's nothing," I responded, sighing at my obvious lie. I rubbed the fox under his muzzle. "I guess I'm just feeling inadequate, you know? You two get stronger nearly every day while I've barely changed. To be honest, I sort of miss the days when we were in the same league. It will pass." I gazed into the sunset ahead of us. "I'll be back." I got up and left the campsite, figuring a good walk would clear my head. Two minutes later and I found myself in one of the many grottos that dotted the region. Unlike many of the other grottoes I found, however, there was a hot spring on the other side.

"Wow... Just how many of these places are there?" I wondered. I moved closer to the hot spring and was surprised to see it was so clear. "Wah!" As luck would have it, something bumped me from behind, and I fell into the shallow body of water. I resurfaced quickly and looked around. "Okay, whoever you are, you got me." I turned around and nearly fell underwater out of surprise from what I saw, and I had to put a hand to my aching heart. Standing before me was Virizion, one of the legendary musketeers of Unova. "A-am I intruding, um, Mr. Virizion, s-sir?" I asked, perhaps sounding more fearful than I meant to. I was more afraid than amazed; if the stories were to be believed, the musketeers harbored a grudge against humans, and I thought it was still there. Given recent events, it wouldn't be too surprising.

"Wot?" That was an odd sound, certainly not one I expected from the Grasslands pokémon, but it was enough to replace my fear with confusion. On his back, I noticed a blue shape, and once I saw that he had a black tail, it all became clear. I laughed half-heartedly as the fox's illusion dropped, sending ripples through the spring. I petted Trick and Hilt on their heads, smiling.

"You guys..." I said. "I was gonna come back, you know. I just had to resolve something, I think." I paused, trying to recall why I was in this pool of hot water. "That is weird. I don't remember why I came here. All I know was that I was stressed about something, but what it was is another story." The two looked as confused as I did while I climbed out of the water and sat down. "My clothes are soaked...but I do feel calmer. You should take a dip." The two pokémon looked at the hot spring for a moment before looking at me with a smirk. "Um..." They lunged at me, removed nearly all my clothes (thankfully leaving my boxers untouched), and dragged me into the water.

"Wot! Dewww!" Hilt cheered when I "joined" them. He had a smile on his face that I rarely got to see these days since he evolved. I was beginning to worry that evolution would make him forget about me. Strangely, I felt content to be in the middle of the wilderness in only my underwear thanks to two pokémon who forcibly undressed me. It made me ponder just how vulnerable I really was, but a quick splash from the Tricky Fox pokémon made me forget that immediately. I stared at the fox, who turned into a copy of me and returned the stare.

"Hee hee!" the lookalike snickered. Oh I'd get him for that, and Hilt too, for making me worry.

* * *

**For the record, I have never seen that video. I've only heard of the meme. :P**


	3. Understanding

"And my 1000-win streak has come to an end..." my opponent, an elderly man, admitted. He sounded downtrodden by his defeat, despite his calm front.

"If it's any consolation," I proposed, attempting to cheer him up, "I don't think anyone has ever gotten that far, Mister Stonewall. I'm serious, I have never heard of anyone with such a streak." He straightened up and smiled, taking out a sizable amount of money and handing it to me.

"Thank you, young man. I shall not forget your sportsmanship. I bid you and your samurott a good night." He walked past us and entered one of the homes that dotted the bridge. I looked at his retreating figure for a moment before looking at Hilt. Once again I couldn't help but think about how all the training he put himself through as a dewott had paid off. Evolution sure had been kind to him, granting him impressive and dense muscles, hard armor, a large helmet, and two seamitars that he perfected his technique with on a daily basis.

"Wow," I said in admiration. The giant otter looked at me and smirked. He stood on two legs and flexed his muscles. I never thought I'd feel so attracted to anyone before, and to a pokémon, no, my best friend, at that. Hilt took great pride in his strength, and it showed.

"Samu," he said cheekily, coaxing me into feeling his arms. As soon as I did, he pulled me into a strong hug that I weakly returned, too stunned to do anything else except breathe. The samurott carried me into the cottage I bought with the money earned from battling trainers and discovering treasure. He walked into the bedroom all three of us shared and placed me on the bed, smiling as he exited the dark room. Once he was out of the house, I finally recovered. I frowned as I stared at the ceiling, listening to the sound of him practicing Razor Shell.

"Why does he make me feel that way?" I mumbled. A year earlier (has it been that long already?), when we first met, he was a sad little oshawott who I thought could really use a friend. Our first night together was awkward but overall innocent, and bathing together was an experience we shared once a week. Hilt was a shy but friendly yet feisty little guy, and I would never understand why no one took a chance with him. He was affectionate, too, and spent most of his time cuddling up to me.

"Was this all because Hilt got curious that night?" I wondered. When he became a dewott, he also became distant and serious, and our relationship became strained. I rarely saw a smile on his cute face, and to be honest, I was sure that I had been cast aside. He became dedicated to his strength and trained nearly every day, sometimes exhausting himself sick. I remembered nearly yelling at the pokémon to take a break, and he responded by hitting me with a Water Gun. That dusk we spent at the hot spring reminded me that Hilt was still the friendly little guy I knew, though he was focused on being his best.

"I shouldn't feel this way about him, but I...I do," I admitted. Somewhere down the line, perhaps after he evolved into a samurott, I started thinking of him as more than just a friend. Perhaps the same could be said of Trick; the now-sleeping zorua always comforted me during our strained relationship and became someone I could trust with my secrets. Hilt made a habit of displaying his strength to me only, and whenever we were in a battle, he would occasionally wink at me with those red eyes of his. I sat up as I finally realized what was going on, face-palming for not seeing it sooner.

"You crazy samurott," I said, stealing a glance at him swinging his swords. All this time he's been trying to steal my heart, and it looks like he succeeded. He stopped and wiped his brow, turning around to head back inside. I smiled and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I turned on the warm water, undressed, and stepped inside the tub, careful to close the curtains. No more than three minutes passed before I felt two strong, blue-furred arms wrap around my chest. Hilt rubbed me gently with his claws as he rested his head on mine. I noticed that his helmet and swords were gone, and as I turned around and faced him, I saw two triangular ears atop his head.

"Rott, samurott," he said, taking a long look at my naked form. I blushed from his compliment and hugged him, feeling the firm, well-developed pectorals and abs. Hilt returned the hug and licked me.

"Hilt, I love you, with all my heart," I stated bluntly, nearly melting into his powerful arms as I finally submitted to his advances. "Will you stay with me forever?" I kissed him underneath his muzzle as an afterthought and sighed. His grip on me loosened, and for a short moment I feared I had gravely misinterpreted the situation. Hilt would probably-

"Sa! Samur rott!" he cried, interrupting my thoughts and proving me wrong. The giant otter pulled me down with him and grinned, and for the first time, tears of joy flowed out of his eyes, uninterrupted by the shower.

"I'll get you a Slowpoke tail in the morning, okay?" I promised.

We spent the rest of the night in the bathroom.


End file.
